
Class CR 1 \ 5 
Book. rR4- 
Copyright N? 



COaHJGilT OSPGS1E 




THE FIRST U.S. FLAG AND SEAL, 

Mrs. BETSY ROSS the AUTHOR 



THE HISTORY 



OF THE 



FIRST UNITED STATES FLAG, 



AND THE PATRIOTISM OP 



BETSY ROSS, 



THE IMMORTAL HEROINE THAT ORIGINATED THE 



FIRST FLAG OF THE UNION. 



DEDICATED TO THE LADIES OF THE UNITED STATES. 




By Col. J. Franklin Reigart, 

Author of the "Life of Robert Fulton. '* 



HARRISBURG, PA. 

LANE S. HART, TRINTER AND BINDER. 

1878. 



■TH 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1878, by 
LANE S. HART, 
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



PREFACE. 




j!N" 1824, when General Lafayette arrived at Philadelphia, and 
was nobly welcomed as " The Nation's G-uest," the writer 
of this book was staying several weeks at the hospitable 
home of his amiable and kind relative, Mrs. Betsy Ross. The arrival 
of Lafayette excited and brightened her extraordinary memory, as 
she very cheerfully entertained all her friends, by relating the most 
interesting facts of the Revolution, and its Flag of Victory. Her 
words we well remember. She objected, as a member of the society 
of " Friends," to sit for her portrait, nevertheless, a miniature of her 
in crayon was made, and is now highly prized; and at this late day, 
we deem it our duty to publish the true history of the origin of the 
first Flag of our Country, and the patriotism of America's most illus- 
trious Heroine. 

The BRAVEST of the brave demands our song, 
Who made the Flag so firm and strong, 
Of all earth's emblems the brightest diadem, 
The Freemen's shield, the Patriot's gem. 

Listen to her thrilling, cheering voice, her soul-inspiring, martial 
song, whilst a dozen of the ladies of her household joined in the chorus, 
as she handed over each Flag to the gallant troops, on their way to 
camp, and roused their enthusiasm to the highest pitch. The ladies 
of the Revolution loved her for her magnanimous and modest Quaker 
deportment, and the army of Washington applauded her dignified 
admonitions, so full of patriotism and power of song. Quakers very 



IV 



JPHEFJLCE. 



seldom sing, but Betsy Ross always said, "My voice shall be devoted 
to God and my country, and whenever the spirit moves me, Til sing and 
shout for liberty ! " — and with an enthusiasm for Independence, ex- 
hibiting a spirit power, only to be equalled by absolute phrensy, she 
waved her Flag aloft, and she did sing to the gallant volunteers, the 

"WAR SONG OF INDEPENDENCE." 



" Come on, my hearts of temper'd steel, 

Away ! away ! to arms ! ! 

No foreign slaves shall give us law, 

No British tyrants reign ; 

'Tis Independence makes us free, 

And Freedom we'll maintain. 

And to conquest we will gol will go I will go[ 

With the red, white and blue, 

To conquest we will go. 

" A soldier is a gentleman, 

His honor is his life, 

And he that won't stand by his Flag, 

Will ne'er stand by his Wife. 

And to conquest we will gol will go! will go! 

With the red, white and blue, 

To conquest we will go. 

"Then hark! to arms! to arms!! to arms!!! 

'Tis the time that tries men's souls ! 

The rising world shall sing of you, 

A Thousand Yeaes to come, 

And to your children's children tell 

The Wonders you have done. 

When to conquest you did go ! did go ! did go ! 

With the red, white and blue, 

To conquest you did go." 



Many inspired songs (after the close of the war for American Inde- 
pendence) were carried home by Gen. Lafayette, (the companion of 
Washington,) Rochambeau, and many of the French engineers and 
soldiers, on their return to France, having proved their chivalry and 
united their hearts, blood, songs and arms with Americans, for the 
liberties of America; and, but for the "¥ab Soistg-" of Betsy Ross, 
the "Marseillaise Hymn" would not have been written by Rouget de 
Lille, a French officer of engineers, in 1791. Marshal Luckner com- 
manded the French Revolutionary army at that time, on their march 
from Marseilles to Paris; that whole army became phrensied by the 
words of the "War So^gs" of American Independence, that they 
had helped to gain, and Rouget de Lille caught the inspiratory words, 
"And hark, away to arms! to conquest we will go!'"' and quickly com- 
posed the song that he entitled the "Chant de Guerre de V Amide du 
Rhin," the "War Song of the Army of the Rhine," which the Parisians, 
some years afterwards, named the "Hymne des Marseillaise" Thus 
the " War Song of Independence" became combined, in word and spirit, 
in the "Marseillaise Hymn," and has ever since enlivened the march 
of the armies of France to conquest and played an important part in 
the revolutions, not only of France, but of other Continental States. 

In 1870, William J. Canby, Esq., (the grandson of Mrs. John 
Ross,) of Philadelphia, read before the Historical Society of Penn- 
sylvania, a very interesting paper on the subject of the " Centennial 
Anniversary of the American Flag," in which he stated that his ma- 
ternal grandmother, "Betsy Ross," was the first maker of the "Stars 
and Stripes." She lived in Arch street at the time, and continued in 
the business of making Flags for many years. 



MRS. BETSY ROSS. 

THE AUTHOR OP THE FLAG AND SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES. 




ISS ELIZABETH GRISCOM was born 1742, in Philadel- 
phia, and was married in 1762 to Mr. John Ross, a mer- 
chant of that city. She was a strict member of The Society 
of Friends, and by them always called "Betsy Ross." She was un- 
surpassed in fine needlework, and well known throughout Philadelphia 
and Jew York cities as the most artistic upholstress in America. 
She used the most superior, richest and finest of imported embroidered 
velvets, satins, silks and woolens, that were brought to this country 
by the packet ships of Caleb and Thomas Cope, Boyd & Reed, and 
John Ross, agreeably to her express orders ; and she had a dozen or 
more of her sisters, daughters and nieces constantly employed sewing 
and finishing variegated needlework, in the very best manner, as she 
directed them ; and thus no other upholsterer could possibly compete 
with her. She was a natural artist, an inventive genius, who fully 
understood the best effects of complimentary colors, and the grandeur 
of the primary colors ; yet, strange as it may appear, though one of 
the plainest of "Quakers," she invariably used cloths of the very 
brightest, and in every instance the primary colors combined, so as to be 
distinguished from cdl other objects, and she quickly judged and com- 
prehended the styles that would best please her customers. Her bril- 
liant draperies and tri-colored curtains, in the public halls, hotel par- 
lors, and drawing rooms, were greatly admired ; whilst General 
Washington, General Hand, Thomas Mifflin, George Clymer, Jared 




Ingersoll, J. Koch, Gouveneur Morris, Robert Morris, Judge James 
Wilson, Frederick A. Muhlenberg, Joseph Wilson, Caleb and Thomas 
Cope, Thomas Wilson, Timothy Matlack, James Trimble, and Wil- 
liam Shippen, are some of the names on her store-books, as her gener- 
ous and kind friends and patrons, whose heirs still possess beautiful 
curtains and magnificent quilts of variegated silks and satins, unsur- 
passed, at this day, for beauty of utility, justness of composition, that 
none but a perfect artist could produce ; and the constant use of mate- 
rials of primary colors were her praise, excellence, and fame. 

Colonel George Ross, (a member of the Continental Congress,) and 
James Trimble, (afterwards Deputy Secretary of Pennsylvania,) 
were her brothers-in-law, and through their suggestions, she adorned, 
with drapery, the Hall of Congress, and the Governor's reception room. 
Her upholstery in- the ladies' cabins and state rooms of Caleb and 
Thomas Cope's packet ships was unrivalled and not equalled by the 
state rooms of the European packets ; whilst from the topmasts of 
Cope's packets, her waving red, white, and blue streamers made glad 
the travelers of the seas, several years before the Revolution of 1776. 
Some of the theatres and public halls of Philadelphia were embellished 
and decorated with curtains of white, mazarine, and scarlet velvets and 
silks in waves, festoons, and pendents, and in many instances the cur- 
tains were embroidered with gold and silver figures of vines, leaves, 
and stars that glittered with superb brilliancy, whilst the curtains were 
invariably supported by a golden spread eagle, with lightning darts 
in its talons and a silvery olive branch in its beak ; and these were 
the original and wonderful handiwork of Betsy Ross. She could not 
think of or invent anything brighter or more graceful than her most 
celebrated gay and glittering primary colored curtains, spangled with 
stars and supported by a golden eagle, that already ornamented and 
adorned the interior of the chief Hai ls of the land. They were her 



FIEST UNITED STATES FLAG. 



daily delight and divinely brilliant dreams by night. With her scis- 
sors she cut the form of a small shield, upon which she sewed five- 
pointed stars and tri-colored stripes, in imitation of General Wash- 
ington's coat-of-arms, which embraced stars and pales upon his escut- 
cheon ; this shield she fastened upon the eagle's breast • and, inspired 
with one bright thought, she seized her meritorious daily work, flung 
it to the breeze, hung it "upon the outek walls," and the Freemen 
of Columbia cheered, and hailed it "The Flag of the Union!" 
And that one independent fling made all the people King ! 

At the request of Dr. Franklin, Mr. Robert Morris and Col. George 
Ross, she designed and made the first Flag- of the United States, 
consisting of thirteen red and white stripes, a blue field as a square, 
on the left and upper corner, and upon the blue field was a spread 
eagle, with thirteen stars, in a circle of rays of glory, surrounding its 
head, and the United States Seal was afterwards made from the same 
design of the United States Flag, viz : A red, white and blue shield 
on the breast of an American Eagle, holding in its talons an olive 
branch and thirteen arrows; in its beak a scroll inscribed with this 
motto, U E Pluribus TJnum" and above its head thirteen stars arranged 
in a circle of glory. These designs were approved and adopted by 
the Committee and Congress, and they were made before the words 
"United States of America," were legally used. The country was 
called "Columbia," the Congress was styled the "Continental Con- 
gress," the States were called " Colonies," ; every petition sent to the 
King of Great Britain, and every public document, were issued by 
"The North American Colonies;'' our Country had no name until 
Betsy Ross marked upon her Flags, " The United States of 
America." Dr. Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had 
been appointed (December, 1775, by Congress, a Secret Committee) 
to prepare a Flag, and a device for a Seal for the Colonies, and Dr. 



FIRST TJNITUJD STATUS FIAG. 



Rittenhouse was requested by the Committee, to engrave the Seal 
corresponding- with the eagle on the Flag. 

On the 4th day of July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was 
finished and signed, and the Rev. Dr. Duche', Chaplain of Congress, 
had offered up his celebrated "Prayer of Independence" the Star 
Spangled Banister was unfurled, and emblazoned the Hall of Inde- 
pendence, and hung around the spire of the Old State House Bell, as it 
sounded its tones of warning beyond the city limits, re-echoed across 
the Delaware, and proclaimed the liberty of the land, amidst the thun- 
dering shouts of Freemen, the roaring of cannons, musketry, fire- 
arms, and bonfires; then the Secret Committee, Franklin, Jefferson 
and Adams, was publicly announced by the President of Congress, 
and the Seal (already made) of the " United Colonies" was used that 
day. Aye! the Flags waved, the Seal was engraved, and the thir- 
teen "United States oe America" were saved. 

The Flag was afterwards adopted by Congress, June 14, 1777, and 
September 15, 1789, they passed the act, that "The Seal heretofore 
used by the 'United Colonies' in Congress assembled, shall be the 
Seal of the ' United States ; ' " and for his beautiful workmanship in 
engraving that seal, Dr. Rittenhouse was honored with the appointment 
of Director of the United States Mint; and Franklin styled Ritten- 
house, "the ISTewton of America." 

Mrs. Ross also engaged Mr. George Barrett, (of Cherry near Third 
street, Philadelphia,) an ornamental painter, and accomplished artist, 
to paint upon the blue fields of one dozen silk Flags, a gilded bald- 
headed spread eagle, with thirteen silvered stars encircling its head 
in rays of glory, which were executed in the finest artistic style, for 
the use of Congress and General Washington's army ; they were al- 
ways much admired, and daily used until worn out ; and, Betsy Ross 
also directed Mr. Barrett to ornament the army drums with the same 



FIRST UNITED STATES EIJLG. 5 

design of the eagle and thirteen stars, and the letters "United States 
of America," that gave great delight and spirit to the drummers, to 
such an extent that Mr. Barrett was kept busy ornamenting flags, 
flagstaffs, and drums for Washington's army. The committee of 
Congress were so much pleased with the design of the eagle and thir- 
teen stars that they concluded to adopt and use it for the " National 
Seal " exclusively ; but, Betsy Ross, Col. George Ross, and Lieut. 
Paul Jones earnestly protested against despoiling the Flag by leaving 
out and omitting the eagle, and declared that the Army might, if they 
choose, have the stars only, but as for the Navy they would never give 
up the Bald Eagle, the conquerer of all birds, belonging only to 
America ; and from that day to this the bald eagle of America spreads 
its wings upon the Flags of the United States Revenue vessels as the 
emblem of freedom, independence, liberty, power, empire, and victory. 

From that time our beautiful Flag was composed of thirteen stars 
and stripes. The red stripes were emblematic of fervency and zeal ; 
the white, of integrity and purity ; the blue field with stars, of unity, 
power, and glory. The number thirteen was symbolical of the thir- 
teen colonial states, that severed their allegiance from the sovereignty 
of Great Britain, and declared, in 1776, that they were free and inde- 
pendent powers. 

The size of the Flag of the army is six feet six inches in length, by 
four feet four inches in width, with seven red and six white stripes. 
The first seven stripes, (four red and three white,) bound the square 
of the blue field for the stars, the stripes extending from the extremity 
of the field to the end of the Flag. The eighth stripe is white, ex- 
tending partly at the base of the field. 

According to the act of Congress, April 4, 1818, on the admission 
of every new State into the Union, a star was to be added to the gal- 
axy of the most brilliant Banner of earth. 



6 



FIUST UJSTTTZJI) STA.TJBJS FLA.G. 



Mrs. Betsy Ross put all her household to work in earnest, and the 
"Flags," made of silk and bunting, were not only admired, but after- 
wards approved and adopted by the committee of Congress. General 
George Washington, Dr. Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, 
frequently visited her store, to see what progress she was making, and 
were not only pleased, but expressed their astonishment at her dex- 
terity and judgment, and in the most flattering terms complimented 
her for her remarkable skill with the scissors, as she folded a piece 
of white silk and with one cut formed the beautiful five-pointed star. 

Mrs. Ross, by order of the Government, continued making the army 
and navy Flags of the United States for upwards of fifty-five years, 
and after her death, in 1832, her daughter, Mrs. Clarissa S. Wilson 
continued the business, and they became generally and widely known 
as the most patriotic ladies of America. After the death of Mr. John 
Ross, she was married to Mr. John Claypoole, the grandson of Sir 
John Claypoole, the grandson of Oliver Cromwell, who came to Phila- 
delphia with William Penn. She afterwards moved from Arch near 
Third street, to Second street near Dock, where she resided until her 
death, at the good old age of four score years and ten. 

Mrs. Betsy Ross was of medium height, strong in form, but remark- 
ably graceful and erect ; she had a handsome face, a very fair trans- 
parent complexion, projecting eyebrows, blue sparkling eyes, and light 
brown hair. She was a perfect "Friend " in all her speech and move- 
ments ; possessed of the most refined sprightly intellect and polished 
education ; in fact she was well known throughout the whole of Phila- 
delphia city, as a " sharp, thorough going woman" Flrst in Friends' 
Meeting, where the spirit moved her to speak and to act ; First amidst 
the Daughters of Benevolence, furnishing clothing and lint for the 
Continental troops, scattering printed patriotic songs and appeals 
amongst them ; and First and most effective in her attentions to the 



FIRST TJNITjEJD STA.TJES FLJlG-. 7 



sick. She was, in truth, what her friends styled her, "A Healing 
Medium," — but respected and esteemed by all the physicians and sur- 
geons of Philadelphia, as "the true Friend of the sick" for when her 
hand touched and bathed the burning fevered brow of the sick soldier, 
he knew that he had one friend, and that friend was a true one. When- 
ever she entered the sick chamber, she saturated her handkerchief with 
vinegar, (that she carried in a phial in her pocket, as a precaution 
against contagion,) and after wiping her forehead, lips and hands, she 
cpiietly approached the bedside of the afflicted invalid, and placing her 
hand upon his forehead, she would whisper these words, "In the name 
of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray that your health may be restored" and 
then she would administer the medicines and restoratives as directed 
by the visiting physicians; and her angelic nature, purer than that of 
Jeanne Dare, was the powerful agency of health. She was the worth- 
iest Heroine of the Revolution. 

During the frightful devastation caused by the yellow fever in 1793, 
Mrs. Betsy Ross was most active in alleviating the terrible miseries of 
that epidemic. Moved with sorrow at the sufferings of others, she car- 
ried not only her own life in her hands, but medicines to relieve the 
sick and dying. Day and night she ceased not; whilst her angelic 
visits were cheered with success. Her personal perfections irresistably 
commanded the admiration and love of the sick and afflicted to such a 
degree, that the celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush, styled her the "Mag- 
ical Quakeress." They who would not now honor, esteem, and love 
the name of Betsy Ross do not deserve to enjoy the protection of the 
glorious starry Flag of the Union, in the land of the free and home of 
the brave, or in any land upon earth where the Flag of the Union 
waves. Her biography will ornament the brightest pages of our coun- 
try's history, and her statue, surrounded by a group of her daughters 
and nieces, cutting, sewing and making the "Star Spangled Banners," 



FIUST UNIT JED STJlTJES FLJ^a. 



must soon grace the Capitol of our nation, and the patriotic Ladies of 
America will design, erect, and pay for it. Yes, the friend of Wash- 
ington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Morris, Jones, Rittenhouse, Ross, 
the immutable friend of Liberty, and of the soldiers of the Indepen- 
dence of 1776, will forever live in the hearts of all freemen. 



FIRST UNIT JET) STATUS FLAG. 



9 



JOHN PAUL JONES, 

WITH THE FIRST U. S. FLAG, ESTABLISHING THE FREEDOM OF THE SEAS. 




AUL JONES, the bravest of Naval Commanders, was born 
at Selkirk, Scotland, 1730, and came to America about 1770, 
to fight the battles of Liberty and Independence. He was 
styled "The Washington of the Seas," "The deadliest foe of Cow- 
ards." Lieutenant Paul Jones and Mrs. Elizabeth Ross, of Philadel- 
phia, became intimate friends and neighbors, well known as the most 
zealous patriots in the cause of Independence, doing battle against 
tyrants and oppressors, and Thomas Jefferson, Dr. Franklin, John 
Adams, Dr. Pittenhouse and Pobert Morris were their truest and 
most steadfast friends and patrons. Mrs. Poss designed and made 
the Flag that Lieutenant Jones hoisted upon the Flagship of War, 
in the Delaware bay. During the month of December, 1775, by the 
request and explicit orders of Dr. Franklin, Col. George Poss and 
Pobert Morris, the three members of a Secret Committee of Congress, 
Lieutenant Jones was supplied with one of Mrs. Poss' first and best 
Flags, the red white and blue emblem of Liberty, for which Congress 
paid. Afterward, for Jones' brave honoring of that Flag, Congress 
awarded him $25,000 and a golden medal, and he was further compli- 
mented by an invitation to Paris, where the cross of military merit 
and a sword of honor were presented to him by the King of France, 
at the written request of our Congress, for his dauntless courage and 
his triumphant victory as the Captain of the "Pichard," with the 
first Flag of the Union, over the British Flag of the "Serapis." 



10 



FIRST UFTITFI) STATES FLA.G-. 



In January 1776, the following vessels were fitted out. 

The "Alfred," of thirty guns and three hundred men, Dudley Sal- 
tonstall, Captain, bearing the Pine Tree Flag, presented by the colony 
of Connecticut. 

The "Columbus," of twenty-eight guns and three hundred men, 
Abraham Whipple, Captain, bearing the Flag of the Red Cross of 
Saint Greorge, presented by the Colony of Vermont. 

The "Andrew Doria," of eighteen guns and two hundred men, 
Nicholas Biddle, Captain, bearing the Flag of the White Cross of 
Saint Andrew, presented by the Philadelphians. 

The "Cabot," of fourteen guns and two hundred men, John "W. 
Hopkins, Captain, bearing the Pine Tree white silk Flag from Con- 
necticut. 

The "Providence," of twelve guns, bearing the Flag with the 
Cross of Saint Andrew, presented by Rhode Island. 

The " Hornet," of fourteen guns, bearing the yellow silk Flag of 
Virginia, with Rattlesnake. 

The "Wasp," eight guns, bearing the yellow silk Flag of South 
Carolina, with a Crescent, a Beaver and a Rattlesnake, with the motto, 
"Don't tread on me." 

The Dispatch vessel " Fly, " bearing a blue Flag with Red Cross 
of Saint George. 

E. Hopkins, was Commander-in-chief of the fleet, and John Paul 
Jones first lieutenant. Jones was offered the command of the sloop 
"Providence," which he declined, declaring that he preferred to be 
"Chevalier Bannaret," to hoist and carry the bald eagle, with 
glittering stars and stripes, on the flagship "Alfred," and when the 
Commander-in-chief, E. Hopkins, came on board of her, January 1, 
1776, Jones hoisted the American Union Flag, with his own hands, 
which was the first time it was ever displayed on a man-of-war, and 



FIRST TJJSTTTED STATUS FLJlG. 11 

waving his navy cap swiftly overhead, shouted "Three Cheers for 
the Red, White and Blue! The Haughtiest oe Monarchs 

SHALL BOW BEFORE THAT FLAG II!" "Again, THREE CHEERS FOR 

our Commander-in-Chief and the American Navy!!!" And 
thus he boldly evinced his lofty and chivalrous character, bravely 
assuming the responsibility, and his achievement of glorious deeds 
aided in the recognition of our Independence. 

On the 14th day of February, 1778, the United States Flag was, for 
the first time, recognized in the fullest and completest manner by the 
Flag of France. Lieutenant Paul Jones, on board the brig Indepen- 
dence," at the entrance of Quiberon bay, sailed through the French 
fleet, commanded by Admiral La Motte Piquet, (who was keeping 
the coast of France clear of British cruisers,) and our National Em- 
blem was most courteously complimented and saluted by nine guns. 
The American Flag was first carried around the world in 1789, by the 
"Columbia," Captain Gray, of Boston, and saluted in evert 
port. 



12 



FIRST JUSTITUI STA.TES FLJlG. 



THE COLONY REBEL FLAGS. 




RIOR to July 4th, 1776, various kinds of Flags were used. 
Mr. Endicott, Puritan Governor, aided in a religious cru- 
sade against the cross of St. George ; he cut the cross from 
the Flag flying at Salem, and was tried for treason, but escaped on the 
ground that his act was not actuated by treasonable motives, but re- 
ligious zeal. 

About the first of January, 1776, the immortal Washington un- 
furled his Flag in compliment to the United Colonies, but it was so 
nearly like the British Flag, that the Bunker Hill patriots objected to 
it, because it was a blue Flag with the St. George and St. Andrew's 
crosses combined ; too much like the Flag of the Britons. Nearly every 
regiment had its own colony Flag. All sorts of devices, corresponding 
with the variegated coats of the Continental troops, or militia, scarcely 
two alike. They were styled "Colony Rebel Flags;" still, the "Col- 
ony Rebel Flags" were all used as rallying Flags, until they were 
eclipsed by the starry Flag, called " The Appeal to Heaven," — " The 
Star Spangled Banner." 



FIRST UNITED STJlTUS FIJlG. 13 



WASHINGTON'S ORDER 



FOR "THE FLAG OF THE UNION.' 




O General Putnam, desiring him in the most pressing terms, 
to give positive orders to all the Colonels to have "Union 
Colors" immediately completed for their respective regi- 
ments; and Colonel Kitzema received the two first regimental silk 
"stars and stripes" from the secret committee of Congress, through 
General Putnam, and Colonel Curtenieus ; whilst the brilliant Banner 
of the Union floated from the top of Washington's headquarters in 
lew York City. 

The real truth was, that previous to the "Declaration of Independ- 
ence," the leaders of our armies, the Governors of the thirteen colo- 
nies, and the Continental Congress were afraid to publicly unfurl an 
Independent Union Flag; even Washington's combined crosses 
were discountenanced, disapproved of, and treated with indifference; 
but, the boldness of Colonel George Ross and John Ross, with the 
dashing, daring seamanship of Paul Jones, the firm patriotism, in- 
dustry, and energy of that devoted friend of Independence, the Im- 
mortal Betsy Ross, who forced the "Flag of Liberty" forward, as 
true patriots of America, bid defiance to all Tory opposition, and 
flaunted the Stars and Stripes from the highest pinnacles of our land, 
the "Union Standard," that was never styled a "Rebel Flag," 
or Flag of any single Colony or State, but was styled "The Appeal 
to Heaven," made the cherished Flag of Independence, the triumph- 
ant Flag of Earth ! 



14 



FIRST UNITED ST -AT US I T Ul&. 



THE RATTLESNAKE FLAG. 

OF 1775, THAT CHARMED AND INCITED THE TROOPS OF VIRGINIA TO ACTION. 




[HE Flag of Virginia was a rattlesnake with blue tongue 
forked like lightning, and with thirteen rattles, looking like 
a fierce Anaconda coiled, but with head and tail up, painted 
on white silk, having the motto, "Don't tread on me!" It was con- 
sidered as an emblem of wisdom, and of endless duration as a repre- 
sentative of America, an animal found in no other part of the world. 
The eye of this creature excels in brightness that of any other animal ; 
it has no eyelids and is therefore an emblem of vigilance. It never 
beo-ins an attack nor ever surrenders, it is therefore an emblem of 
magnanimity and true courage. It never wounds until it has given 
notice to its enemies of their danger. Its wounds, however small, are 
decisive and fatal. The power of fascination attributed to it resem- 
bles America. Those who look steadily in its eyes are delighted, and 
involuntarily advance toward, and having once approached it, never 
leave it. 



FIRST TJJ\ r ITJED STA.TJES FLJLa. 



15 



THE FLAG AT YORKTOWN. 




T the battle of Yorktown, October 19, 1781, the French 
troops triumphantly carried our American Stars and Stripes, 
with the spread eagle on the blue field, for the eagle was 
their adoration, and they stormed the redoubts, led on by the chivalric 
and heroic Generals Muhlenberg and Lafayette, who immediately 
hoisted that Flag upon the turret of the fortifications. The instant 
that Lord Cornwallis spied it, he was terror stricken. The waving of 
that Flag compelled him to surrender ; for that Flag was the procla- 
mation of Victory ! and tt ended the war in a blaze of glory. 



16 



FIRST "UNITE I) STATUS FLAG. 



The Flag with its Message. 




HEREVER the Flag of Betsy Ross went, it waved majes- 
tically and above suspicion; no temptation or opposition 
could deter it, for her godly prayer went with it, and upon 
every Flag she forwarded, she pinned her printed message, viz: 
"Evert man that is against this Flag is a Traitor." Aye! 
where the battle was the hottest, and amidst the hail of fire where 
the bullets fell the fastest and thickest, that Flag cheered the wounded 
and dying patriots to shout "Fight on! Fight on! Fight on!" 
And when the brave Commander Lawrence saw that the Flag on his 
Frigate still waved, though wounded and dying, he cried out, in these 
immortal words, "Don't give up the ship!" 

On the 28th of June, 1776, the British Fleet and Army of Sir 
Henry Clinton commenced their furious "Attack on Fort Moultrie," 
but, one circumstance serves to illustrate the daring, enthusiastic 
courage and love for the Flag of Independence which pervaded the 
American Troops. In the course of the engagement, the Flag staff 
of the Fort was shot away, followed by peals of derision from the 
minions of the Fleet, but Sergeant Jasper leaped down upon the 
beach, snatched up the Flag, fastened it to a sponge-staff, and while 
the ships were incessantly directing their broadsides upon the Fort, 
he mounted the merlon and deliberately replaced the Flag, shouting 
"it still plies!" That warrior's shout was echoed by the Garri- 
son, and suddenly checked Sir Henry's derision. The British Fleet 
and Army were greatly mortified by the flying Stars and Stripes, and 



FIFST TTJSTITFI STATFS FLAG. 17 

were terribly repulsed by the braye defence of Fort Moultrie, whilst 
the whole Garrison were fiercely echoing and re-echoing the shout — 
"it still flies!!" The news of this undaunted intrepidity and ex- 
ulting victory spread throughout the continent, and Sergeant Jasper 
was honorably promoted by Congress for his unparalleled heroism. 
Yes, thank God, our Flag "it still flies," and never can be con- 
quered. 



18 



FIRST TJNITLL STATES FLAG-. 



THE CENTENNIAL FLAG. 




T the Centennial Celebration and World's Exhibition at the 
city of Philadelphia, 1876, " The Flags of all Nations" 

waved from the highest pinnacles, but the flashing, glittering 
"Star Spangled Banner" far outshone them all; like a mighty 
flame of Liberty flying through the skies, it blazed and waved, 
streamed and flew as the victorious Starry Banner of the Firmament, 
proclaiming by its expanding, snapping, cracking, sharper, louder 
sounds, the establishment of Freedom, Liberty, Independence, and 
the Union of the World! whilst in every house its graceful folds 
protected each and all in their own religious, family worship; the 
household Idol of Peace that ever and anon, silently wafted every 
daily prayer and song of praise, to the God of our Fathers, the true 
and holy Creator of the Universe. 



FIRST UNIT JED STA.TUS TIJlQ. 19 



PATRIOTIC SONGS. 




| HE following are copies of some of the printed Songs and 
Appeals that Betsy Ross circulated and distributed with 
her own hands in the streets of Philadelphia, and from the 

front door of her Flag store and depot, to the troops on their way to 

Washington's camp : 

THE GALLANT VOLUNTEER OF 1776. 



" Come on, my hearts of temper'd steel, 

And leave your girls and farms, 
Your sports, and plays, and holidays, 
And hark, away to arms ! 

And to conquest we will go ! will go ! will go ! 
With the flag of the brave, 
To conquest we will go. 

A soldier is a gentleman, 

His honor is his life, 
And he that won't stand by his flag, 
Will ne'er stand by his wife. 

And to conquest we will go ! will go ! will go 
With the red, white, and blue, 
To conquest we will go. 

For love and honor are the same, 

Or else so ne'er ally'd, 
That neither can exist alone, 
But flourish side by side. 

And to conquest we will go ! will go ! will go I 
With the red, white, and blue, 
To conquest we will go. 



go 



FIRST UNIT JED STATUS FLA.a. 



So fare you well sweethearts awhile, 

You smiling girls adieu, 
Ye made this starry flag divine, 
We'll kiss it out with you. 

And to conquest we will go ! will go ! will go ! 
With the red, white, and blue, 
To conquest we will go. 

The sun is up, our banner shines, 

The hills are green and gay, 
And all inviting honor calls, 
Away ! my boys, away ! 

And to conquest we will go ! will go ! will go ! 
With the red, white, and blue, 
To conquest we will go. 

In shady tents by cooling streams, 

With hearts all firm and free, 
We'll shout the freedom of the land, 
In songs of liberty ! 

And to conquest we will go ! will go ! will go i 
With the red, white, and blue, 
To conquest we will go. 

No foreign slaves shall give us law. 

No British tyrants reign, 
'Tis Independence made us free, 
And Freedom we'll maintain. 

And to conquest we will go ! will go ! will go I 
With the red, white, and blue, 
To conquest we will go. 

We'll charge the foe from post to post, 

Attack their works and lines, 
And with the stars and stripes aloft, 
We'll capture their Burgoynes. 

And to conquest we will go ! will go ! will go ! 
With the red, white, and blue, 
To conquest we will go. 






FIUST UNITED STJlTJES JTLJ^a. &1 



And when the war is over, boys, 

Then clown we'll sit at ease, 

Protected by the freemen's flag, 

And live just as we please. 

When from conquest we shall go ! shall go ! shall go ! 
With the red, white, and blue, 
From conquest we shall go. 

Each hearty lad shall take his lass, 

All beaming like a star, 
And in her softer arms forget, 
The dangers of the war. 

When to conquest we did go ! did go 1 did go ! 
With the red, white, and blue, 
To conquest we did go. 

The rising WORLD SHALL SING OF US, 

A THOUSAND YEARS to come, 
And to their children's children tell 
The WONDERS WE have done. 

When to conquest we did go ! did go ! did go ! 
With the red, white, and blue, 
To conquest we did go. 

So honest fellows here's my hand, 

My heart, my very soul, 
With all the joys of Liberty, 
Good fortune and a bowl. 

And to conquest we will go ! will go ! will go ! 
With the red, white, and blue, 
To conquest we will go." 



22 



FIRST UNITED STATES IIJLG. 



STIRRING APPEALS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL 

LIBERTY. 

"My lads, you say you are going to fight for Liberty! these are 
words in everybody's mouth, but few understand their real meaning. 
Liberty is not a power to do what we please and have what we 
desire ; this may be the Liberty of a wolf or of a beast of prey, but is 
not the Liberty of a man considered as a member of society. True 
Liberty is the being governed by laws of our own making ; the in- 
habitants of every country to choose persons from amongst them- 
selves, in whom they can confide; which persons so elected shall 
make laws to bind the whole. True Constitutional Liberty is 
the Liberty for which we are now contending, and may God in his 
blessings grant this to us all. 

"]STow, the King of England, has sent over fleets and armies to 
compel us to give up this invaluable privilege ' into his hands; but 
with the blessings of God, we will maintain it against him and all the 
world, so long as we have a man left to fire a musket. Let our con- 
stant prayer be God and Liberty. 

" Our Congress have hitherto conducted us with wisdom and integ- 
rity, and although in some instances it may be thought they might 
have managed better than they have done, yet they have piloted us 
in safety through a tempestuous ocean, to the present period ; and so 
God save the American Congress ! " 



FIRST UNIT FT) STA.TFS FLAG-. S3 



WASHINGTON, THE IDOL OF AMERICA. 

"My lads, I would speak a few words of the General and his 
Army, now encamped on the banks of the Schuylkill, enduring all 
the hardships of their homely situation with cheerful patience; and 
what is it think you blunts the keen edge of the northern winds, and 
makes content smile on the tops of frozen hills? I will tell you, it is 
the love of that " Liberty" I have sat before you, it is the con- 
sciousness of the justice of our cause. I suppose when you think of 
our incomparable General Washington, you figure to yourselves 
a stout, bulky man, of a terrible countenance, covered with gold lace, 
living in a magnificent house and having a great train of attendants 
around him. You are quite mistaken ; he neither has nor needs any 
external ornaments. Would you hang farthing candles around the 
Sun to increase his lustre? His glory will admit of no addition. 
Your General is a plain man, plain in his dress and frugal at his 
board ; yet a native dignity will command your respect, and the affa- 
bility of his manners win your love. He is brave without ostenta- 
tion; magnificent without pomp; and accomplished without pride. 
He is an honor to the human race and the Idol of America. And so 
God save General Washington and his Army." 



#4 



FIRST T7JSTZTFL STATES FLAG. 



The Immortal Francis S. Key 




~N the night of September 15, 1814, whilst the British fleet, 
under the command of the English Admiral Cochrane, were 
bombarding Fort M'Henry, at the city of Baltimore, Fran- 
cis S. Key, was divinely inspired with the sublime sight of the glo- 
rious Banner of the Union still waving over the Fort, and a thousand 
times reflected, multiplying and increasing in splendor, in every stream 
of fire throughout the skies, every glare meeting every leaping wave 
of the billowy Chesapeake Bay, the heavens and waters together 
joined, each wave glaring with new admired light ; but, when the Fort 
resisted all the efforts of the British ships-of-war, and forced the Ad- 
miral to retire, amidst the joyous exultation, the great shouts of the 
countless hosts of freemen, " Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed 
gloriously!" " The Flag of the Union still triumphs /" Who? Oh! 
Who can imagine the feelings of Francis S. Key, as o'er his head the 
flying bombs sang terribly, spent their force in air, and roused, all the 
internal powers of his poetic spirit, his inspired soul to sing still 
louder ? 

" Oh ! say can you see by the dawn's early light. 

What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming ; 

Whose broad stripes and bright stars thro' the perilous fight, 
O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming ? 

And the rockets red glare, and bombs bursting in air, 

Gave proof thro' the night that our Flag was still there. 

Oh ! say does that star spangled banner yet wave, 

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ? 



Chorus — Oh ! say, does the star spangled banner yet wave, 

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ? 

On the shore dimly seen thro' the midst of the deep, 

Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes ; 
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, 

As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses ? 
Now, it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, 
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream ; 
1 Tis the star spangled banner, oh I long may it wave, 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. 
Chorus — Oh! say, does the star spangled banner yet wave, 

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ? 

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore, 

' Mid the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, 
A home and a country they'd leave us no more ? 

Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution. 
No refuge could save the hireling and slave, 
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave ; 
And the star spangled banner in triumph doth wave, 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. 
Chorus — Oh ! say, does the star spangled banner yet wave, 

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ? 

Oh ! thus be it ever when freemen shall stand, 

Between their loved home and the war's desolation ; 
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven rescued land, 

Praise the Power that made and preserved us a nation. 
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, 
And this be our motto, " In God is our trust ; " 
And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave, 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. 
Chorus — And the star spangled banner in triumph shall wave, 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave." 



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